"Enthralled" starts off with a simple quiet piano-type melody, slowly evolving into a sweetly melancholy slow ambient track via squelchy and clicky percussion - kinda reminds me of ambient techno ala Autechre. There's a bass growl in this track that is appreciable, sounding like waves lapping on a shore. The big pads that come towards the end build to quite an intense climax. Super ambient track that is well structured, if somewhat simple. A-
"Mysterious Thing" is just what it says on the tin - exotic ambience that reminds me a bit of Entheogenic. I like this track, though at times it verges on the generic. B
"Visions of Touch" revs things up a bit in that it actually has a beat and is the outstanding track here, managing to be both chilled out and acidic, a winning combination. A
"The Burning" has some sounds that have become generic for psychill - choirs, panpotted bass growls, swooshes etc. However, it also has a long voice sample about love that might well make this one of the few Goa tracks that is overtly romantic (it reminds me a bit of Boris Blenn's "the ultimate experience is love" sample from Galaxy's "Musication Celebration" on the Angel album). Is the romance here tantric-style or Romeo & Juliet type? I don't know, but even though I find the sample both intriguing and kitsch, this track is just a bit too cheesy for me. C
I'm a big fan of RA, going right back to the 1997 "R.O.M./Azure Child" ep. I rate "To Sirius" very highly and "9th" is my favourite, but I also think "Earthcall" and "Unearthly" worthy works. This latest chill out ep from RA is solid, but I can't help feeling that it is just throat-clearing. The singing is yet to come. Let us hope we get another album soon. ~*~